- - Please visit: Legacy Horn Experience - -
Years ago, I remember one of my teachers saying that Tuckwell sounded better on his Kruspe. By the time I heard him play live he was on his modified Holton 180, which was I believe the main horn you hear on his recordings that achieved wider circulation. For the early ones, however, he performed on a Kruspe, and he is seen with it for example on the cover of the recording he made with Vladimir Ashkenazy, Music for Horn and Piano.
It was also obviously a horn he had a special fondness for, as it was used for the photos in his books.
What vintage was his Kruspe?
What I noticed right away was that the photos confirm that his Kruspe is almost identical to my 1948 Kruspe, and I believe it had to have been made within a few years of 1948.
The color photo above is on the cover of Horn. From this we can see two major differences. One is that his Kruspe has nickel silver slide tubes, and the other is his has a garland on the edge of the bell. My horn is seen for comparison below.
Other differences?
Any other differences between my Kruspe and the Tuckwell Kruspe are pretty subtle. One visible one is a brace is in a somewhat different location. Can you find it? The below is the photo on the cover of Playing the Horn.
There are more differences to spot between the two photos. I think the locations of the three water keys are interesting, especially the one on the tube that leads into the thumb valve.
And a look at the back
Finally, what I wish I could see in the book photos (and you might wish it too) is the back of the horn. That is where you can see more of the differences that are characteristic of a Kruspe Kruspe. Noting also, there are some differences between Kruspe horns of different time frames due to availability of parts and design evolution.
There is a squareness and tightness to the bends (especially the F horn tubes on the back) that is distinctive, as is the construction of the F horn tuning slide. Also, if you had a Conn 8D handy and could compare the horns directly, you would see that that the throat of the bell of a Kruspe of this vintage is distinctly smaller than a Conn, certainly in a range that would be described as medium today.
But not all Kruspes are medium! Some older Kruspe horns are among the largest horns ever made, we will look at one of those when the series returns.
Continue in Kruspe Dreaming series
